Taking care of you before baby
Pregnancy is a time filled with many feelings for new and even second or third time moms. The best way to take care of your growing baby is to care for yourself during pregnancy. Your health affects your baby.
Healthy diet and prenatal vitamins
Prenatal vitamins help with your baby’s brain growth. It’s a great idea to start taking prenatal vitamins when you’re trying to get pregnant. Once you’re pregnant, your doctor will ask you to take prenatal vitamins every day. They may be able to write you a prescription so you can get them as a lower cost.
It’s important to eat a healthy diet during pregnancy as well. You’ll need to increase your calorie intake. The increase may not be as big as you think. You should only eat 340 more calories daily on average. Eating a balanced diet while pregnant can help you avoid too much weight gain and other issues as well.
Prenatal immunizations
Your doctor may also ask you to get some shots during your pregnancy. The flu shot and TDaP are the most common. These are important to protect you. They may provide some defense for your baby after birth too. An infant will not be able to fight infection the way that adults and older kids can. Getting the TDaP shot while pregnant can help keep your baby from getting serious diseases like pertussis, also known as whooping cough, until they’re able to get their first shots.